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Welcome to Split, Croatia

We are settled in Split, Croatia for the next month. So far, we have both been blown away by how much we like it here.

Split’s history is long and convoluted. The Romans built a town called Salonae around 200 BC at the site of a small village, just a couple miles from modern day Split. At it’s peak, Salonae had 60,000 inhabitants. A man named Diocletian was born to peasants there. He joined the Roman army and came up through the ranks to become the Roman Emperor. Diocletian was a remarkable emperor for several reasons: he ruled for 20 years, he divided the enormous Roman Empire into four administrative districts, each with their own ruler, and he abdicated.

This was our first view of Diocletian’s Palace. The old Roman wall built 1700 years ago still has its arched windows and shows signs of other buildings.

Between 294-305AD, Diocletian had a palace built a few miles from his hometown. Diocletian’s “Palace” is more of what we would call a fortress. It housed Diocletian, his wife and daughter, their servants, and 700 soldiers inside a walled compound. Even a retired emperor needed protection and an army.

Inside the Palace walls. Houses made from the fortress and built on top of each other.

In the seventh century, well after the Romans abandoned the palace, locals moved in while fleeing invading Slavs. They built a medieval village inside the former palace walls. Since then, people have built, torn down, renovated, and made this site their home. Walking around, you can see a mix of building styles that reflect various rulers: the Venetians, the Austro-Hungarians, and even Yugoslav Communists. It is a beautiful mishmash and well preserved because it has been continuously inhabited for hundreds of years. As the text in one museum said, unused standing buildings became “quarries” for tomorrow’s building projects.

Today Split is Croatia’s second largest city with 180,000 inhabitants. The metro area is a sprawl of 1960s and 70s high-rise buildings. The center of town (Diocletian’s palace and the surrounding medieval villages) is where we are staying. Many streets are too narrow for vehicles, the pavers underfoot are polished smooth, all the buildings are stone, laundry hangs from windows and lines strung between houses. The stone used for building and pavers is local limestone. Underfoot they gleam a glossy soft cream from wear, older building are blackened with age and salt spray, recently cleaned building are a soft warm off-white. Many walls show signs of past windows, doors, and walls from previous remodels. It is beautiful.

The green market that is about two minutes from our place. You’re seeing about a sixth of it in this picture!

There are many reasons that we like Split:

It has a green market seven days a week where you can buy local eggs, cheese, olive oil, figs, pomegranates, citrus, kiwi, bread, wine, almonds, honey and all the usual veggies. The daily market is bigger than Portland farmers’ market at it’s height and one of five in Split, it is admittedly the largest. Most of the vendors use mechanical balance scales and small weights to determine how many kilos of produce we’ve bought.

The charming narrow lanes with a mix of architectural styles built on top of each other.

The natural beauty from the very clear, very blue Adriactic Sea, to the white limestone cliffs in the steep Dinaric Alps paralleling the coastline, to the colorful bougainvillea.

The frequency of sunshine (often).

Split and its harbor.

We can blend in. One of the first things our host said was “you don’t look like Americans, you look like you are from here!” Additionally, it is the low season. In the height of summer, this place can be packed with cruise boats, yachties, backpackers, and families going to their coastal summer homes. This time of year, tourists are rare. One of the men working in the tourist information office told us, “you can’t get an English language newspaper this time of year. No one else is going to ask for one for six months.”

Split is a port with frequent high-quality ferries running to near by islands.

Stone roofs are common, as is bougainvillea.

Locals appear committed to fitness and healthy living. Even in November, we see swimmers in the Adriatic. Bikes, walkers, joggers are all common. The people look strong and healthy.

A couple thousand people live inside the walls of the original Roman palace. Because of near-continuous use, the Roman construction is very well preserved.

We’ve found an exceptional pastry/coffee shop.

The vestibul where Diocletian would dress in royal robes and prepare for public appearances. The top of the domed roof has collapsed leaving a view to the sky.

We took the train from Paris to Croatia, passing through the Alps in Austria and Slovenia. It was snowing and the hills showed recent snowfall from the night before.

The train followed the Sava River through Slovenia and Croatia. The Sava had spilled over its banks and was carrying a lot of sediment and debris.

Nicolas Tesla was born in Croatia. This statue of him stands in the capital, Zagreb.

Throughout our journey in Europe, we have seen statues of St. George killing or having killed the dragon. If you don’t know the story, Wikipedia has a good overview.

This is our house in Split. You enter through the green door on the left and immediately head upstairs.

Inside the Palace. Stairs lead up to private residences, the passage on the right opens into a courtyard.

“Roman soldiers” in the main square pose for tips.

This tower was built by the Venetians in the 15th century, both to discourage locals from revolting and protect the town from Ottomans.

This was the main gate leading into Diocletian’s Palace. You can see how locals have moved into the walls, added on to them, and created gardens and terraces where possible. Also note the clothing shop on ground level.

Klapa, a traditional a capella Croatian music, is often performed in the vestibul for tourists. The acoustics are remarkable in this round room.